SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:James “Jim” D. Hicken, 66, of Murrieta, has been appointed to the CalAccount Blue Ribbon Commission. Hicken has been Director, President and Chief Executive Officer at Legacy Bank since 2018. He was Senior Vice President and Business Center Manager at Community Bank from 2016 to 2018. Hicken was Director, President and Chief Executive Officer at the State Bank of India (California) from 2014 to 2016. He was Director, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Credit Officer at Frontier Bank DBA El Paseo Bank from 2012 to 2014. Hicken was Founding Director, President and Chief Executive Officer at the Bank of Santa Clarita from 2004 to 2012. He was Senior Vice President and Regional Manager at Union Bank of California from 2002 to 2004. Hicken was Executive Vice President, Chief Lending Officer and Chief Credit Officer at Valencia Bank and Trust, Santa Clarita from 1996 to 2002. He was Senior Vice President and Senior Loan and Credit Officer at Metrobank from 1989 to 1996. Hicken was Vice President and Senior Account Executive at Union Bank from 1981 to 1989. He was Funds Management Officer and Assistant Controller at the First Interstate Bank of Utah from 1979 to 1981. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hicken is a Democrat. Byron L. Lopez, 36, of El Cerrito, has been appointed to the CalAccount Blue Ribbon Commission. Lopez has been a Senior Policy Analyst at Service Employees International Union Local 2015 since 2015. He was a Research Analyst for Service Employees International Union-United Long Term Care Workers from 2010 to 2015. Lopez is a member of the Board of Governors of the Alameda Alliance for Health. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Lopez is registered without party preference. Manisha Padi, 32, of Oakland, has been appointed to the CalAccount Blue Ribbon Commission. Padi has been an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley Law School since 2019. She was a Bigelow Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School from 2017 to 2019. Padi was a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2016 to 2017. Padi earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Padi is registered without party preference. Alison Yoshimoto-Towery, 51, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the State Board of Education. Yoshimoto-Towery has been Executive Director of the UC/CSU California Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning since 2022. She was Chief Academic Officer at the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2019 to 2022, where she served in several positions from 1993 to 2019, including Director of Instructional Operations, Instructional Director, School Principal, Literacy Coach, Teacher and Paraprofessional. She was a Teacher Leader at the University of California, Los Angeles Center X from 1999 to 2005. Yoshimoto-Towery is a member of the California Collaborative on District Reform, the Los Angeles Educator Pathways Partnership, and the Los Angeles Compact. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Education and a Reading Specialist Credential from California State University, Los Angeles, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Educational Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Yoshimoto-Towery is a Democrat.
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